A Padded Ladybug to Stitch

ladybug2.jpgYesterday we had a ladybug find her way into our house. Given the fact that it has been in the twenties Fahrenheit outside at night, I can’t say I blame her for wanting to hide on my husband’s sleeve. She got back in 4 times before he finally managed to keep her off his clothing and get inside without her. Despite the temperatures, she’s much safer outside — our cat Dora had her eye on her as a snack…

This little girl to stitch is quite a bit bigger than your average ladybug beetle! Measuring about an inch long, she’ll stand out on an ornament or a pillow.

You will need:

  • Red stranded floss
  • Black stranded floss
  • Red felt
  • Ground fabric (a tightly woven calico, silk or satin will work best)

ladybugpattern.gif

  1. Click the pattern to enlarge it, then either print it from the page or right-click and save it to your computer before printing.
  2. Transfer the “stitch frame” to your ground fabric.
  3. Cut 3 pieces of red felt to match the felt template.
  4. Tack the felt with very small whip stitches in layers to the main body of the bug on your ground fabric. Tack the smallest piece down first in the middle. Then the middle piece over that, and the full sized one over the top. Doing it in this order provides a smooth surface for the final stitching.
  5. Draw a line down the middle of the felt body.
  6. Work the head in padded satin stitch.
  7. Stem stitch antennae if you want them. I left them off of mine because I’m planning to cut it out and make it into a brooch, sitting happily on a needle-lace leaf.
  8. Satin stitch over the wings, following the diagonal lines on the diagram. Be careful that coverage is smooth and even. If the outside edge isn’t as smooth as you might like it to be, work a stem stitch around the body. This will hide any bobbles you may have made.
  9. With two strands of black, work French knots over the red satin stitch.

ladybugbead.jpgladybugbead2.jpgCongratulations! It’s a ladybug! Or, skip the stitching altogether and attach a cute ladybug bead that you found at the local bead store! (One of these days I’ll find a use for these cuties! click on the pictures to see them bigger!)

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